The Physics of Blown Sand and Desert Dunes

Abstract

LIEUT.–COLONEL BAGNOLD is well kno for his scientific publications on desert sands and dunes, and for a book describing his travels in the Egyptian and Libyan Deserts. The present book combines these papers and much other original research into one comprehensive volume, which would, however, have possessed an added interest to readers if the introduction had included some reference to the author's work as a pioneer of motor travel in the desert. Descriptions of desert features in various parts of the world have been written by many travellers, but this book is unique in that the author has combined the results of experimental research in a wind tunnel with personal observations in the desert. The subject has a particularly topical value in connexion with the present war operations in the Libyan Desert, and the explanations of many desert features vitally affecting such operations will interest a wide range of readers. There is also scope for applying the researches to other kindred problems, such as the encroachment of desert sands over cultivated land, which is a serious menace in certain parts of the United States. The Physics of Blown Sand and Desert Dunes By R. A. Bagnold. Pp. xx + 266 + 16 plates. (London: Methuen and Co., Ltd., 1941.) 24s. net.